Free Of Blood and Bone by Courtney Cole Page B

one,” I tell him. 
    He crosses the room in three strides and pours two glasses of what looks to be Scotch.  He walks back and hands me a glass half-filled with the amber liquid.
    While I am standing next to him, I can practically feel the power emanating from him.  He’s the type of person who has been born into it.  It has been cultivated in him from the time he was an infant and it shows.  Power and money are in every molecular strand in his body. He is definitely a force to be reckoned with.
    “To sanity,” Luca says, tipping his glass toward mine. And then he downs his in one gulp. 
    I take a tentative sip and realize quickly that I was correct.  It’s Scotch.  Neat.  Without one ounce of tonic or even an ice cube to dilute it.  It burns my mouth and warms my chest as it slides smoothly down.  But for some reason, I don’t want him to know that it makes me want to gag and cough.  I want to seem unfazed, so I drink the rest in two gulps and hand Luca back the empty glass.
    It is worth my numb lips because there is approval in his eyes as he takes it.
    “Aren’t you going to ask?” he says as he sets the glasses down on a heavy wooden side table.  He is still staring at me and his gaze makes me feel like my skin will be ablaze soon. 
    “Ask what?”  I feel slightly woozy already from the Scotch.  And to be honest, I’m also woozy from being so near to Luca Minaldi.  For several different reasons, he has an interesting effect on me.
    “Wouldn’t you like to ask me if you’re safe here with me?”
    I look at him, remembering his mother’s startling words.  My son is evil.  
    “Am I?” I ask and my voice is barely a murmur. 
    “Probably not.”
    Luca’s voice is quiet in the study, as dark as the night surrounding us, and I suddenly feel like I should run, somewhere far away from here.  But at the same time, I know that I won’t.  I am ridiculously drawn to this man and the more I find out about him, the more I want to know.  So I shake my head.
    “I’m not afraid.”
    Luca looks at me again and I don’t see one ounce of the vulnerability that I have seen there before.  Instead, he is expressionless once more and darkly handsome. 
    “Well, that’s the rub,” he answers.  “You should be.”
     

 
    Chapter Nine
     
     
     
     
    Luca
    I watch her absorb my words, drawing them into her body as she thinks about them.  Her face, for once, is impassive.  Evangeline isn’t showing her hand.
    “Why should I fear you?” she finally asks.  She is trying to act unruffled.  But I can see that she is nervous.  Her slender hands fidget in her lap as she tries to sit still.
    “Oh, we don’t really have the time to get into that this evening,” I tell her.  “There will be other nights, I’m sure.  I don’t want to scare you away so soon, Dr. Talbot.”
    “I’ve told you,” she says.  “Call me Eva.”
    I look at her long and hard and she fidgets under my gaze.  On some base level, I find satisfaction in that. She is very unflappable. The fact that I have gotten beneath her skin says something. 
    “Ah, we’ve already gone over that, haven’t we?” I ask.  “We aren’t yet friends.”
    She lifts her chin and I can see her cheeks are flushed.  Have I offended her or is it the effects of the Scotch?  She downed hers like a sailor, something that I wasn’t expecting.  I could tell she didn’t like it. Women usually don’t, but she certainly hid it well.
    “As you like,” she answers.  I almost smile, but don’t.  I offended her.  The capable, no-nonsense Dr. Talbot might be more sensitive than she seems.
    “Why does Adrian call you Eve?” I ask.  The question is out before I think about it. I hadn’t meant to ask, but ever since I heard him do it, I’ve wanted to know. 
    Her eyes meet mine quickly.  She is surprised.  And flustered.  She shakes her head.
    “It’s silly.  It’s a private joke, I guess.”
    “Why is it private?” I